Bach told Venturebeat during an interview that the idea has been lurking around Microsoft’s offices ever since the 360 hit the shelves:

“We start thinking about the next generation before we shipped the Xbox 360. It doesn’t start with a date. It starts way upstream with silicon development. From that comes a series of data points. You start making early technology choices. It’s an evolving thing. Stuff doesn’t become concrete until you get inside a window of when you have to ship, more than 18 months or so out.”

Plans may be very well in motion, but don’t expect the new Xbox console to hit any time soon:

“Our view is we will be selling Xbox 360 for a long time. We are always working on new technologies. We have people working on those.”

Everyone’s guess is that, this point, Xbox 360 will continue to battle agaisnt the PlayStation 3 for quite a while. Both companies have invested a lot in these devices and can’t afford to give up on them just yet. In the mean time, the Nintendo Wii is selling great and ejoys a market where it has no direct competitors.